1. Field
Embodiments relate to a power supply apparatus for supplying or shutting off a power voltage to a load according to the temperature of the load, and a control method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a power supply apparatus is designed to supply a power voltage to a load, and to shut off the power voltage supplied to the load when the temperature of the load increases beyond an abnormal range of temperature. Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional power supply apparatus includes a load 110, an outside power source to supply the load 110 with a power voltage, a relay RL electrically connected between the load 110 and the outside power source, and a control unit 120 to output a signal serving to activate or inactivate a contact point the relay RL.
A node at one side of a coil of the relay RL is connected to a driving power source Vcc, and a node at the other side of the coil of the relay RL is connected to a collector node of a transistor TR. A base node of the transistor TR is connected to an output node of the control unit 120, and an emitter node of the transistor TR is grounded. According to the signal output from the control unit 120, the coil of the relay RL is driven, and the contact point of the relay RL is activated or inactivated. The control unit 120 may output a signal serving to inactivate the contact point of the relay RL upon satisfaction of a predetermined requirement or according to an input from an outside.
However, the conventional power supply apparatus is configured on the assumption that an Alternating Current (AC) power is supplied to the load 110. Accordingly, if a Direct Current (DC) power is supplied to the load, an arc may occur as a result of a high voltage. In addition, if the relay RL is broken, or the output node of the control unit 120 is broken, an alternate to the relay RL or the output node that is able to shut off the power voltage supplied to the load is absent and thus a fire is started due to the overheated load.